PHOTO: FILE
The provincial health department sources told The Express Tribune that police has nominated 26 people in the forceful protests at the LRH and have arrested 15 people including five doctors of the MTI LTH on Saturday.
Most of the arrested people belong to other districts including DI Khan, Swat, Mardan, Shangla, Charsadda districts besides Peshawar.
The sections which have been included in the FIRs are injuring the police and journalists during their strike to forcefully close the hospital, attempt to murder and violations of the section-144 imposed in the LRH prior to the protest calls from the doctors.
GHA press conference
Meanwhile, GHA leaders told a press conference that the provincial government and chief minister have not fulfilled their promises made before the protest calls and passing of Regional and District Health Authorities Bill.
GHA senior representative Dr Ameer Taj said it was shameful that a committee had been formed to address the doctors’ grievances, but it never delivered on its agenda.
Dr Taj said K-P Health Minister Hisham Inamullah was deceiving the people by false statement to the media, as 3,000 to 4,000 doctors have been transferred from provincial capital to the other district.
Moreover, the GHA leader said, it was astonishing that a private person has been made head of the health institution who was pushing the public healthcare towards privatization.
He claimed that provincial health minister has no authority in the affairs of the health ministry, the real power lies with Dr Nowsherwan Burki who was made chairman board of governors of the Lady Reading Hospital though he hd been living in the US for the past 50 years.
Regarding the Regional and District Health Authority Bill, Dr Taj said if it was enacted, doctors could be removed from their posts with a single directive from the authority, which in immediate case was Dr Burki.
The whole health ministry was being run from the US with his directives. District administration imposed section 144 at MTI LRH on a call from the US, Dr Taj said and claimed that provincial health minister did not have any power to take initiatives or give directions to the police, it was directions from US-based Dr Burki.
Regarding the right to peaceful protest, GHA leader said the provincial government lacks the appetite to bear the legal, peaceful, lawful dissent of the doctors and other people in the provincial capital.
First, the government used brute force against doctors and now they have registered FIRs against the senior medical practitioners and sent them to jails, he said.
Dr Rizwan Rajput said they would lie to announce through the press conference that all doctors will shut private practice in Peshawar until the arrested doctors and paramedics were not released.
“We also demand the Peshawar High Court to conduct an inquiry on deforms being introduced in the public healthcare system and urged the court that court should interfere to amend the bill and provide legal cover and protections to the civil servant to the doctors in the province” chairman Dr Rizwan said.
Boycott of polio and dengue campaigns
The after police, on directives of higher authorities, baton-charged protesting doctors, the OPDs of government hospitals remained shut. Health professionals boycotted polio and dengue prevention campaigns and demanded the resignation of MTI LRH head and provincial health minister.
PPP backs protest
Pakistan Peoples Party has announced full support to the doctor’s protest in the province and has issued a show-cause notice to its MPA Sahibzada Sanaullah for supporting the PTI government on Regional and District Health Authorities Bill in the assembly.
While addressing the joint press conference at Peshawar Press Club, PPP K-P Information Secretary Senator Robina Khalid and PPP K-P President of women wing Nighat Orakzai said the provincial government was acting like tyrants of yore.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 29th, 2019.
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